July 16 Headlines

So since I suck at actually trying to get a well thought out blog posted in a timely manner--I figure it would be much easier for me to pull headlines from different sources and than give my brief (and sarcastic) remarks on each headline.

1. Joe Biden said today that "We have to spend money to keep from going bankrupt." Oops Joe--we're already bankrupt--guess you didn't spend enough when you had the chance.

2. CNN has an article about Michelle Obama's "slavery roots." What bullcrap is this? Oh, that's right, only since her husbands nomination and election has she been proud to be an American. This woman looks like a trashy flight attendant! (I say that just so when I run for political office one day--someone will pull this and criticize me over it--and I will draw the comparison over what Letterman said about Palin and how he was never criticized for that remark).

3. The CBO Chief has recently said that the new health bill will increase federal costs. No sh!t sherlock! I guess any moron can do these peoples job!

4. A CNN Commentary headline: "Gay is not the new black." WTH!?!?

5. Reuters is reporting that Obama is marking $1.8 billion to fight the swine flu. Are we serious about this? Go get some freakin tamiflu and get over it!

6. Random thought--Sonia SotoMAYOR (cuz we put so much emphasis on the last part) looks like Hugo Chavez in drag!

In Memory-The King of Pop

Tired of all the Michael Jackson news? Me too. Yes, I too am tired of hearing about the speculation of his untimely death, how far behind in bills he was, what he did or didn't do with little kids, and who will get his kids. If there is one thing I am glad about however, is the fact that Obama is probably red hot in the oval office about how little air time hie is getting...pitty. But for just a minute, let us remember the person who brought us some classic hits and killer dance moves!

For starters, I am not a huge Michael Jackson fan, primarily because I do not care much for pop music, but also most of his music was before my time.

I can remember my earliest days of hearing Michael Jackson in a movie theater, the movie? None other than Free Willy. I remember when the movie came out to video and of course, we had to have it, and they included a music video of the main song "Will You Be There." It was incredible...okay--this coming from a kid who was so sheltered from the world where Free Willy was the first movie I'd ever seen in a theater...that's beside the point though. That was my earliest memory.

My next memories did not come until we moved out here in Atlanta and I was in 8th grade (I told you, I was sheltered). Of course, it was this time that Michael Jackson had miraculously turned into Wacko Jacko, this according to the news tabloids. Transplants, skin dying, nose jobs, all seemed to make the magazine covers, and than came Neverland Ranch, synonymous for the child molestation case. I did not follow the trial very closely, but easily remember how it plagued America for so long. Of course, Michael made sure to make the headlines with his outlandish court room appearances, showing up in pajamas, or showing up to the hospital instead of the courtroom. But in the end, he was acquitted of all charges. It was actually rather humorous because I was in Rome when the verdict was read, and the international media was covering it like a hawk! Was this guy a bit on the weird side? Yea, he was. But it was the work he did throughout his career that should have outshone his wacky side, sadly, it never did, that is until his untimely death.

Probably the greatest song put together by Michael Jackson, We Are the World, sold MILLIONS of dollars worth in albums, all of which went to charities in Africa to help drought stricken victims in the mid-80's. Michael's songs went on to target a whole slew of other issues. Black or White became one of the all-time best selling rock songs of the 90's, and it targeted the issue of race. And less popular for a few controversial words, They Don't Care About Us, targeted the issue of prejudice (although I think it's a song for all politicians from us the American people)! Jackson revolutionized the music video industry with Thriller, a whopping 14 minute "mini-movie" that had fans of all ages doing the "Thriller" dance.

The comeback of Michael Jackson was going to be bigger and better than ever. This is It, a series of 50 concerts in London's O2 arena. Speculation grew that if Jackson performed even 1 show, it would be surprising. Tragically, he did not even make it to the first show.

Hours upon hours of news coverage has been spent trying to pin down the cause of what killed him. It did not take me long to figure it out. It was not a drug overdose, he was killed by the greed of others. People did not care about Michael Jackson the man, they cared more about Michael Jackson the commodity. They were looking for ways to make their next big buck, and anyone with half an ounce of common sense (I had to get that in here somewhere) would have known that Michael was well beyond his days of 50 performances and whatever else was scheduled. They would have been able to see that the glory days for the King of Pop were long gone. But they did not. They needed someone to exploit, and who better than Michael Jackson?

Finally, a recent video of a New York Congressmen had just been posted about him calling Jackson a pervert and pedophile, and going on about how we have issues more close to home than this sole man. To this congressman I say you are correct, we do have more pressing issues than just one man. But shame on you to Congressman. You fail to see and realize that Michael Jackson has probably done more in his lifetime to better the lives of others through Charity work than you will ever do!

While we may have two ongoing wars, a financial disaster courtesy of a reckless president, and countries that want to see our nation destroyed, we should also take the time and remember the life of the King of Pop, and remember that life is too short to take for granted. The financial disaster is not going to go away overnight (actually, it probably won't go away for the next 4 years), the American people have not, and will not forget what the men and women of the armed forces are doing overseas for our freedoms. But Tuesday, July 7, 2009, will be a day to remember the legacy, the good works, and the incredible talent of the King of Pop. His comeback has arrived. This is It!

It's All About Power!

Every once in a while I will find an editorial that is just too good and has to be posted somewhere. This one comes from Neal Boortz on Government spending--and he nails it right on the head!

_________________________________________

Well now. Our economy is really lunging forward, isn't it? What a ride! Are you holding on?

We're billions of dollars further in debt (trillions?) and the economy is still stagnant. TARP, the stimulus bill, massive debts our children and grandchildren will have to pay .. and what has this all brought us? Banks aren't lending, businesses aren't hiring - let along expanding - and consumers aren't buying. Oh, to be sure, the malls are crowded. Turn up the thermostats and see how long that lasts. Those aren't shoppers, they're just your neighbors trying to stay cool while watching the latest absurd teen fashion and freak shows.

Do what the initials SNAFU mean? That word was created to define government action, or inaction as the case may be. In 1942 Time magazine carried this revelation: "Last week U.S. citizens knew that gasoline rationing and rubber requisitioning were snafu." Well .. if there was ever a SNAFU, our economy would fit the description. To fully understand this, you have to know what the acronym stands for. Go ahead ... Google it

So ... after hundreds of billions of dollars, government seizures of GM, Citigroup and others, imminent bank nationalization, massive favors handed to unions at the expense of private investors, and a pantload of new czars in the White House ... all done to kick start our economy ... what do we have. SNAFU, that's what. Or TAUFU, if you like.

Look ... I'm just a talk show host. What the hell do I know? I've been sitting behind a microphone for 40 years now sparring with hundreds of thousands of callers who generally knew a helluva lot more than the hundreds of politicians I've interviewed over that time. Having said that ... I'm betting that this particular talk show host can, in just a few hundred words, give you some better ideas for kick starting our economy than you've heard from Obama and his Democrat sycophants over the past four months. Oh, and throw in most of the Republicans as well.

It's not all that hard, really. All you have to do is recognize and acknowledge the true goal of the political class. It's summed up in one word: POWER. You think they actually give a flying Krispy Kreme about you? What? I know you were born at night, but was it last night? They may care about your vote .. but that's it. It's power, my friends. Power and little else. Politicians will spout some lofty rhetoric about public service and wanting to leave this country a better place when they leave office; but, with few exceptions, that changes rather quickly. Once they get used to the privileges and the perks that go with their exalted positions their mindset changes. These people don't name research centers, bridges, parks, sports stadiums, university buildings, highways and office buildings after themselves because of their dedication to public service.

Where does that leave us? It leaves us in a situation where the people in power, the people who make the rules and decide how our economy is going to be fixed, are going to worry first about preserving and expanding their power and secondly (if they have time) about putting us back on a track to prosperity.

The basics: What does it take to get our economy moving again? Spending. If nobody is spending nobody needs to produce. You aren't going to gather the raw materials and personnel together to spend time and money creating a product or service unless you have some degree of confidence that there are people out there who either have or can borrow the money to buy it. Our economy is a constant day-by-day election process. The products and services put into the marketplace are the candidates. Consumers are the voters. Dollars are the ballots. If a candidate gets no votes, the candidate either reinvents himself or just simply goes away. The whole process slows down or grinds to a halt if the voters don't have ballots to cast.

Clearly, to stimulate our economy money had to be spent. That's basic. The question, then, was who gets to spend the money? If the American public gets to make the choices as to when and where the money is spent, that equates to power for the people. If, on the other hands, those decisions are made by the political class, it means no power to the people - the power goes to the elected elite. Now would someone please try to explain to me why these politicians, as completely immersed as they are in building their individual power bases, would ever want to turn over the power that goes with spending these huge sums of money to the great unwashed? How in the world is that going to benefit a politician? How do you generate a campaign ad for radio telling the voters that you deserve reelection because the private consumers in your district kept the local hardware store and a few clothing shops in business with their spending? Better you should be able to lay claim to a few road widenings and resurfacings and a new rehearsal hall for the local high school band.

Do you remember how much that stimulus bills was? Let's just call it $750 billion. For the sake of argument let's accept that this $750 billion had to be borrowed and spent to get our economy cranking again. Once you've accepted the $750 billion figure we're going to borrow, you then have to decide just who gets to spend that money and what they get to spend it on.

Here's an idea from Texas congressman Louis Gohmert (R 1st Dist.). Gohmert wanted a tax holiday. I've taken his idea and expanded it a bit. Last year Gohmert was floating an idea of allowing the American people to go one full month without paying any federal income or payroll taxes. The idea was that they would then spend this money and stimulate the economy. When Obama started talking about the $750 billion dollar stimulus price tag I did some quick calculations. It seems that $750 billion is almost exactly equal to the amount of federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from American paychecks over a six-month period.

Are you following me? How about not a one-month tax holiday, but six months? How about letting people keep almost their entire paychecks for one-half of a year?

So -- here are the two possible scenarios our politicians had to work with:

1. Borrow the $750 billion and let the politicians (the looters) decide how it is going to be spent to stimulate our economy.
   
2. Give the producers a six month period in which they owe no federal income or payroll taxes. For these six months they get to keep their checks. This puts $750 billion into the hands of American workers - American producers - to spend and invest.

Either way you are going to have to borrow $750 billion. If you give the people a six-month tax holiday the money will have to be borrowed to replace the lost revenue.

You see it, don't you? There is one huge difference between the two plans. Under the government spending scenario the politicians get to decide how the money is spent. In other words, they get the power. Remember ... power is the goal. It's everything to the political class. Politicians wanted to decide which road is built, which park is refurbished, and which research project gets additional funding. Every one of these decisions would be made based on the political capital it will generate.

Under the tax holiday plan the people, not the politicians, get to cast the ballots/dollars. Spending choices would not be made on the basis of political expediency, but on the free choices of the people. Businesses that delivered a good product and good customer service would get the votes, not politicians who delivered a pork project to their districts.

A dollar spent on a new lawnmower at the hardware store does not generate a single vote. A dollar spent on a new job mowing grass along an Interstate highway does.

So ... there was a decision to be made. Massive amounts of money were going to be borrowed and spent to stimulate our economy (or so the storyline went). But just who would get to spend the money?

Do you remember that famous Bill Clinton line? It was January of 1999. The place was Buffalo, New York. The federal government had actually collected more tax money that it needed. There was a surplus. Someone asked Clinton if, considering the surplus, there might be a tax cut. His response: "We could give it all back to you and hope you spend it right... But ... if you don't spend it right, here's what's going to happen." He then went on to describe the gloomy future of Social Security when more people are collecting benefits than paying taxes.

Sure .. it's your money. You worked for it; you earned it. That money actually represents the expenditure of a portion of your life ... and here's this politician telling you that even though he doesn't actually need that money right now, he's going to go ahead and keep it because if he returns it to its rightful owner - you - then you won't "spend it right." Now excuse me, but don't you get to decide what would be the right way and the wrong way to spend your money?

You know the rest of this story. The politicians in Washington decided that they would be doing the spending, not you. You just could not be trusted to spend it "right." So President Obama sent the word to Princess Pelosi to gather together all of the spending dreams and schemes of her Democrat members of congress and compile them into a massive spending bill. The bill would be pure pork and designed for nothing more than to secure reelections; but it would be called stimulus.

Now I could waste a few thousand words here describing all of the absurd ways this money is being spent. Vice President Biden actually told us that there would be waste. He was talking to business leaders in New York in early June when he said that waste would be inevitable in spending the stimulus money. Inevitable doesn't begin to cover it.

The Real Citizenship Quiz

I've had this quiz for quite a while. It comes from Neal Boortz book Somebody's Gotta Say It. Forget trying to know who Betsy Ross was, or when the Declaration was signed, this tackles those hard hitting questions that will make you *gasp* THINK!

Forget when the Declaration of Independence was signed. (Hint: It wasn’t July 4.) Instead, explain why it was signed. What were the signers trying to accomplish?

What happened to the men who signed the Declaration? Di they go on to be heroes and live happily ever after?

What does the Declaration of Independence say the people can do when a government becomes destructive to the ends of liberty?

Are we about there?

What would happen to anyone who tried today to alter or abolish out government if it becomes destructive to the idea that government derives its powers from the consent of the governed?

Which articles of the Constitution grant specific powers to the federal government?

Which article of the Constitution restricts the powers of the government to only those specifically set forth in the Constitution?

Which article of the Constitution do you imagine is the one most often ignored by the Congress of the United States?

Describe the circumstances under which Francis Scott Key wrote the words to “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Do you believe people living in a free country ought to be compelled to recite a pledge of allegiance to that country? Why?

If you are required to recite a pledge of allegiance, are you really free?

Was the Revolutionary War supported by a majority of the colonists?

Should Washington have developed an “exit strategy” before he ever led his troops into battle during the Revolutionary War?

Where in our Constitution is it stated that anyone has a right to vote for the office of president of the United States?

How did our original Constitution provide for the appointment of senators?

Most foreign countries appoint an ambassador to be their official representative before the government of the United States. Who officially represents the fifty state governments before the government of the United States?

Explain the difference between a rule of law and the rule of man.

Explain the difference between a democracy and a constitutional republic.

Was our country founded as a country of majority rule?

Can you imagine what our country would be like today if the majority did rule?

Aren’t you glad the majority doesn’t rule?

If two wolves and one sheep vote on what they’re going to have for dinner, what do you think the menu will look like?

Why does it matter in the grand scheme of things who the governor of North Carolina is?

Isn’t a governor something you put on a state to keep it from moving ahead very fast?

What possible benefit could you gain by memorizing the motto of the state of North Carolina--or any other state, for that matter?

How many times can the word “democracy” be found in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution?

How many ties can the word “democracy” be found in the constitutions of any of the fifty states?

What does this tell you?

Define “civil war.”

Was the war between the Northern and Southern states in the mid-1800’s a civil war?

Who is third in line of succession to the presidency?

Based on your answer to the foregoing question, would you demand that George Bush and Dick Cheney never eat from the same container of potato salad now that the Democratic Party is in control of the House and the Senate?

How did the political class manage to fool the people of the United States into supporting a Constitutional Amendment creating an income tax?

How do most people get their news on a daily basis?

Does the “freedom of the press” clause in the First Amendment apply to the broadcast media?

So, do most people get their news from agencies licensed to operate by the federal government?

Why were the words “under God” placed into the Pledge of Allegiance?

Do you think it’s proper for the federal government to compel students attending government schools under compulsory attendance laws to acknowledge the role of God in the formation of our country? Would this constitute “effecting an establishment of religions?” If not, why not?

Do Americans derive their basic rights from the Constitution?

If we don’t derive our rights from the Constitution, just why was the Bill of Rights added anyway?

Define a system of government where the means of production are owned and controlled privately,

Define a system of government where the means of production are privately owned but controlled by the government.

Define a system of government where the means of production are owned and controlled by the government.

Why do liberals have such a tough time answer question number 42?

What percentage of total income is earned by the top 1 percent of income earners?

What percentage of total income taxes collected by the federal government is paid by the top 1 percent of income earners?

Where in our Constitution does it specifically state that only US citizens may vote for the office of president of the United States? (Caution: Trick question)

Name one right that a state government can exercise without interference from the federal level.

Where in our Constitution does it specifically state that only US citizens may vote for members of the House of Representatives?

Look at the Bill of Rights. List any amendments in the Bill of Rights that were ratified for the purpose of limiting the powers of the government.

If our Constitution provides for equal protection under the law, why, then, does the Voting Rights Act only apply to certain states that were held in political disfavor in the 1970s?

List any amendments in the Bill of Rights that were ratified for the purpose of limiting the rights of the individuals.

If the Bill of Rights was written to limit the rights of government and to guarantee certain rights to the individual, try to explain why so many people seem to think that the Second Amendment was written to limit the rights of individuals and guarantee the rights of government?

Does the First Amendment protect speech that some people might find offensive?

Explain how our republic was threatened when Janet Jackson showered the world that she likes to wear a Japanese throwing star on the nipple of her left breast.

What is the one exclusive power our government has that no individual or business can legally exercise?

If we were playing rock-paper-scissors and treaties with foreign nations duly ratified boy our Senate were the paper, would our Constitution be the rock or the scissors?

Do you have the right to use force to take money from a stranger if you’re going to give that money to someone in need?

Explain the concept of our government deriving its powers from the consent of the governed.

Now explain how you can tell the government to do something for you that, if you did for yourself, would be a crime.

Should the government make something you might do a crime if that action doesn’t violate another person’s right to life, liberty, or property through force or fraud?

How many votes must you have in the Senate to be assured that a piece of legislation will pass?

Do you have a choice as to whether or not you pay Social Security taxes?

Why, then, do they call Social Security taxes “contributions?”

What is the average age of a country or society based on the rule of lau and guaranteeing freedom, individual rights, and economic liberty?

Has the United States outlived its life expectancy?

Treason!

Well, here we are again, another 4th of July in America. 233 years ago (if my math is correct) the Founding Father's did something unimaginable. Penning the infamous words:

"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

It is a cause that most Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike seem to forget. On this day, most American's will don their "American" t-shirts, barbecue for lunch, and go out to a crowded place, and watch a fireworks display that will probably last only 20 minutes and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars! These are the people who for one day are proud to be free (similar to Michelle Obama being proud of America for the first time when her husband got the Democratic nomination). But these are the people who have no clue of the sacrifices that the Founding Fathers had done. By signing the Declaration of Independence, the Founders were committing the ultimate treason, high treason to the crown of England! Benjamin Franklin said it best, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

The Fourth of July is something more than a celebration of America's birthday, it is a celebration of the sacrifices that those before us made. As our nation was in it's early years, most of the colonists did not want to become a new nation, they would have rather been mad at Great Britain, and yet just tolerated the crap they got.

But American's seem to have lost the spirit of freedom. In 1776, it was freedom from government the colonists were seeking. But here and now, American's are "sleeping" with the government if you will. They are more dependent, looking to the government for the next handout, blaming the person next to them for something they did not do. We have become a country that does not have a clue what "personal responsibility" means. We want government run healthcare, government run this and government run that. Has anyone been to the post office at 12:30 in the afternoon? The government cannot run the freakin post office right but we want them to handle our health insurance?

This is an old scenario list titled "Just How Much do you Really Love Freedom," it was something Neal Boortz posted several years ago on his site and I have held onto it:

JUST HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY LOVE FREEDOM? Planning for your retirement. I want my employer to provide me with a pension plan. I want the government to take something out of every one of my paychecks and then pay it back to me in monthly payments after I reach retirement age. I'm perfectly willing to save some money toward my retirement years out of each and every paycheck and I want my employer and the government to butt out. If I fail to finance my retirement years adequately I'll have nobody to blame but myself. Desecrating the American Flag I believe the Bill of Rights was written by men to tell government what it can and cannot do. Even though I strongly disapprove of anyone desecrating our Flag, I realize the First Amendment was written to protect unpopular expressions, not ones that everyone is going to agree with. I believe that our Flag is the symbol of our country, and anyone who desecrates it ought to be punished harshly. To that end I approve of a new Constitutional amendment, the first one since prohibition that would tell us what we can and cannot do, instead of the government. Medical Care My employer should provide me with a health insurance plan covering me and my immediate family. The government should provide taxpayer funded health care for everyone. I should be responsible for providing my own health care and health insurance in a competitive medical marketplace unhindered by government mandates and regulations. Health Insurance The government should tell health insurance companies what they must and what they cannot cover in their policies. I wish to be free to negotiate with health insurance companies in order to find the best price for my policy by including matters I wish to insure against, and excluding health matters, like drug and alcohol abuse, which are of no concern to me. Having No Health Insurance If I have no health insurance the government should provide me emergency health care paid for by the taxpayers. If I have no health insurance and the taxpayers are compelled to pay for any of my health care the taxpayers should be reimbursed through the seizure and sale of all of my assets. I have no claim on the property of others for the purpose of paying for my medical needs. Choosing a doctor I'm perfectly willing to rely on private accreditation organizations to tell me who is properly trained in the delivery of medical services. After conferring with those accreditation organizations, like the American Medical Association, I want to be free to chose any person I want for any medical purpose I see fit. I want the government to tell me who I can seek medical services from. Wages and Employment I realize that in the free enterprise marketplace I have something to sell just as to all other individuals and businesses do. My product is my physical and intellectual labor. I should be left absolutely free to negotiate a price for my physical and intellectual labor with any prospective employer free of government interference. The only role for the government in my relationship with my employer would be to provide a means to enforce contracts between us. I want the government to set a minimum wage below which I would not be free to work. I also want the government to set my working hours, how I am to be paid for overtime, family leave options and my vacation periods, I recognize that the most important task I shall have as a human being will be to nurture and raise my child. With that in mind: I want the government to seize my money through taxes and to use those taxes to set up a system of government schools to which I shall be compelled to send my child. I will be free, if I wish, to send my child to a private school, but the government will not let me have any of my money back to pay for it. I want the government to back out of the picture and allow me to accept the responsibility for the education of my child free of government interference and mandates. Knowing that the more despotic a government becomes the more that government tries to control the dissemination of information. I also know that most American rely on the broadcast media for their news. Therefore: I want the government to continue to license the operation of all radio and television stations and to regulate their conduct so that they don't broadcast against the common interest. I want the broadcast media in this country to have the full First Amendment rights granted to the printed media. I am a devoutly religious person and my religious feelings include strongly felt opinions on what other people should and should not do in their private lives. I want the government to regulate the sexual conduct between consenting adults so that said conduct will be in keeping with my personal sense of what is right and what is wrong. I may be disgusted by what some people do to and with each other in the privacy of their own homes, but I do not wish for the government to prevent those perverts from doing whatever perverted things they like to do to each other. Even though I drink alcohol and smoke nicotine: I want the government to make sure that nobody uses any substance that I find personally offensive. Marijuana, for instance. I do not believe that the government should be involved in what people do, and that includes what people smoke, in privacy of their own homes. I just don't want to have to pay for it when they screw themselves up good. You need some legal advice. 1. You want the government to tell you who you can go to for legal advice. If you go to someone for legal advice who is not approved by the government, and that person charges you to prepare a will or to draw up a lawsuit for you, you want the government to punish that person with a heavy fine, or perhaps some jail time, even though you freely entered into an agreement with him for that advice and legal help. 2. You are willing to use your own common sense in choosing someone to represent you before a court, either someone who is recommended by a private accreditation agency such as the American Bar Association, or someone who is otherwise known to you to be informed and capable as to legal affairs, and you are willing to abide by the choice you made. You're going to have a child. You understand that having a child will be physically, emotionally and financially challenging. So ..... You want the government to used money seized from taxpayers to pay for child care for your child. You want the government to force your employer to give you 12 weeks off from the job in order to care for your new child, and you want your job to be waiting for you when you return. You know that you had the child, not the taxpayers and not your employer, and you are willing to bear the responsibility for raising that child without the government imposing any cost, burden or duty on anyone else on your behalf. You want to ride your motorcycle without a helmet. You're willing to take full responsibility for your decision, including the possibility that you might die if you crack your head open and you don't have enough money to pay for the medical care you'll need and there's no private charity willing to step up and cover your costs because they consider your injuries to be essentially self-inflicted. You want to be free to ride without a helmet, but if you do happen to sustain a horrible injury you want the government to force the taxpayers to be responsible for your health care.

Carbon Credits = Catholic Indulgence

What a catchy title! I am sure that alone will throw a few people to read this blog. So I have been trying to figure out just how to go about explaining to someone what in the world these carbon credit thingys are. Well, after long thought (about 20 minutes) I figured it out! Catholic Indulgences! I know, someone will probably condemn me to the firey pitts of hell for this one, oh well, it's a great comparison I think!

Remember all those history (or even Bible *gasp* classes) where you heard about the famed Martin Luther (the white one) and his 95 Theses? Well, Martin Luther was a wee bit upset about the fact that the catholic church (aka the Pope) were selling indulgences. Now just what is an indulgence? In Monopoly terms it is a "get out of jail" card or in the churches case a "get out of hell" card, the only difference between the church term and the monopoly term is that you could buy it from the church where in monopoly it is the luck of the draw. So get this, you could buy an indulgence, go murder someone (make it someone worthwhile though) and you would not go to hell--so long as you have purchased your indulgence. Purchase enough of these things and the possibilities of "sins" you can commit and be free from the firey pitts of hades are endless! Indulgences--coming to a walmart near you (catchy ad yea?)!

Now, I know you are waiting for my connection between carbon credits and indulgences!

Using our example above I draw this conclusion and example, substitute the word "indulgence" with "carbon credit" and boom--we have our example:

Under this new bill "energy bill" our make-believe company General Motors is granted 12 indulgences over the course of a year (1 indulgence a month). Over the course of a year, if GM commits 20 "sins" than they will need to purchase 8 more indulgences from the government. Do you think GM will fit the bill for those extra 8 indulgences? NO! Who will?

Let's bring it to a more personal level. If your local energy company, say Georgia Power, is given 24 indulgences over the course of a year (2 each month) and we will fictitiously say that in one month they have used 4 indulgences, they will need to purchase 2 more indulgences. Now, here is the question, will Georgia Power pay for those 2 extra indulgences or will they pass that expense on to their customers? Aww, yes my friends, and this is where the new cap and trade bill becomes the LARGEST tax increase in the history of this country! Yet if I recall a campaign promise from president Obama (president purposely lowercased as he is a weak president), he said he would not raise taxes on families earning less than $250,000/year. Well, last time I checked, even the people who are living in apartments have to pay an electric or gas bill and probably have a car as well (though hopefully they went with a Honda or Toyota and not some American made junk).

Hmm, simple enough I think!

Is There Any Hope? An Introduction

Here's a quick rundown of some of the headlines from Drudge:

1. Where is the Stimulus

2. Congress's Travel Tab Swells

3. Spending on taxpayer-funded trips rises tenfold

4. From Italy to the Galapogos

5. Honduras leaders defy Obama pressure to restore Zelaya

6. Jobless rate at 9.5%; 467k jobs cut in June

7. Senate Dems say health bill covers 97%

And that just covers about 1.5 columns! Where has the Common Sense in Washington gone? This is more than just petty politics. I am a Conservative yes, but I am first an American, and second a Conservative. Why am I a Conservative? The answer is very simple--because when it comes to core principles of this great nation, Conservatism answers all questions--ranging from gay marriage and abortion, all the way to fiscal responsibilities. Since this is only an introduction to the blog, I will get to the point...

When I have time to post (summer = a lot of time, fall/spring = not so much time) I will "expose" the common sense or lack thereof of both parties. Now, let's be clear here, the Democrats are morons and the Republicans are morons with brains-you take your pick on the lesser evil. Will I pick on Democrats? If they keep spending us into oblivion, yes. But--I will make sure to include the list of Republicans who REFUSE to side on fiscal restraint in these times. And of course, there is a good chance you will get a heavy dose of my sarcasm! So--taking the above headlines--I will give you my take in 1 sentence or less (okay--so even I'm not that concise--so maybe 2 or 3 sentences). Please keep in mind--this might not always be uhh--kid friendly--I'll try and use @$% as necessary, but sometimes I just get soo mad!

1. Where is the Stimulus

Stimulus? I thought it was a pork bill?

2. Congress's Travel Tab Swells

More than Obama's date night?

3. Spending on taxpayer-funded trips rises tenfold

Great--they're on vacation while I work my a$$ off

4. From Italy to the Galapogos

Screw those places--I want to go to Australia!

5. Honduras leaders defy Obama pressure to restore Zelaya

Good for them! Listening to a Socialist only leads to trouble.

6. Jobless rate at 9.5%; 467k jobs cut in June

See answer to number 1. If the stimulus was working, #6 would not appear

7. Senate Dems say health bill covers 97%

Uh huh--and just where are they pulling those numbers from...wait...never mind!